CHICAGO – Coming out strong in doubles and carrying over momentum into singles, the UIC men’s tennis team (3-14/1-5 HL) came away with its first Horizon League win of the season on Sunday when it defeated conference-foe Youngstown State in a 4-3 decision at the Flames Outdoor Tennis Courts.

“We started out the match with a great effort in doubles,” head coach Hans Neufeld said. “(James) Li, (Alexander) Raa and (Maurizio) Feoli all controlled their matches and finished strong. We lost two tough three-set matches.”

Taking the first point of the day in doubles, the Flames swept the Penguins in all three positions. At No. 1, Rahul Kamath and Alexander Raa took down Tariq Ismail and Dawoud Kabli, 8-5. Maurizio Feoli and Alan Reifer came in at No. 2 to defeat Rodrigo Campos and Victor Theorin, 8-6, while Scott Shepardson and Nate Kirk rounded out at No. 3 with an 8-4 win over Zeeshan Ismail and Silviu Mistreanu.

In singles, UIC was able to capture three matches in straight-set fashion. Leading the way at No. 1, James Li ousted T. Ismail, 6-1, 7-5. Moving into the No. 3 rotation, Raa captured a 6-4, 7-6 (4) decision over Kabli, while Feoli went up at No. 4 to take a 6-4, 6-2 win over Max Schmerin.

It was a battle from start to finish for Reifer and Kamath, as they each went to a tiebreaker in the first set of their three-set matches. Reifer faced Mistreanu at No. 2 and took his first set, before going doing in the second and third for a 6-7 (8), 6-3, 10-6 final. At No. 5, Kamath won the first against Campos, but fell in the final two, 6-7 (2), 6-3, 10-7.

Francisco Pereira saw action for the first time since facing Bradley on Feb. 26. Going up against Z. Ismail at No. 6, Pereira dropped a 6-1, 6-0 decision.

The Flames return for their final home match of the season on Friday, April 20, when they host Northern Illinois in a non-conference match at the Flames Outdoor Tennis Courts at 3 p.m. (CT).